the Spanish press angry with the arbitration after the elimination of Barça against PSG – Libération

Champions League file Following the elimination of FC Barcelona by Paris in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Catalan newspapers this Wednesday, April 17, attacked the arbitration, which they judged (with a touch of bad faith ) responsible for the defeat of the “Blaugranas”.

Bitterness, anger and a touch of bad faith. The Spanish media, and particularly the Catalan press, are dwelling on their disappointment this Wednesday, April 17, the day after the elimination of FC Barcelona by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (4-4 defeat). 1 at home, after a 3-2 victory at the Parc des Princes last week). And point the finger at the same person responsible: the referee of the match, the Romanian István Kovács, who sent off the Uruguayan defender Ronald Araújo in the first half, then awarded a penalty to the Parisians after the break. Two decisions which seemed quite logical, but which aroused the anger of the Blaugranas, starting with coach Xavi, also excluded during the match, who will leave the club at the end of the season.

“Lethal Red”, title on the first page the Catalan football specialist daily Mundo Deportivo, which describes a “questionable” expulsion. Beating PSG by playing numerically inferior for an hour was “mission impossible”, regrets the newspaper. Same story with competitor Sport, also based in Barcelona. On the front page, it displays a photo of Barça players grouped around the referee, with the title: “Expelled from Europe”, and evokes a “severe” arbitration decision. “Araújo’s red card marked the beginning of the end for Barça. From then on, another match was being played: a Barça without protection and a PSG which smelled of blood and had no mercy,” analyzes the media.

🗞️ SPORT COVER

💥 Expelled from Europe

😩 Atlético did not resist in Dortmund

🏟️ The Etihad will pass sentence

https://t.co/meFkLih5XB

— SPORT Diary (@sport) April 16, 2024

“Mbappe kills Barça”

For the Catalan-language newspaper L’Esportiu, however, “the expulsion is logical and the bad decision of the defender is clear”, because he “should have let pass” the Parisian striker Bradley Barcola and thus avoid abandoning his teammates. “The worst thing is that we don’t know what could have happened if Barça had been able to compete eleven against eleven. The red card hurts precisely because of this. Because Barça had played well until then,” laments the author of the article.

The Madrid press, for its part, prefers to display on its front page the joy of Kylian Mbappe, author of an ordinary performance but a decisive double. “Mbappe devours Barça”, Marca announcementthe most widely read paid newspaper in the country, when AS title : “Mbappe kills Barça”. “It was a dignified and broken Barça who bowed, head held high in front of a rather dull Mbappé, who only showed himself at the end of the match,” observe the daily life. In the Spanish capital, there is also despair over the elimination from the Champions League, this same Tuesday evening, of Atletico Madrid against Borussia Dortmund. And we await with concern the quarter-final this Wednesday evening between Real Madrid and Manchester City, the last national chance in the most prestigious of European competitions.